


like that summer, the one we spent before

by dyrimthespeaker



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, References to Drugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 01:29:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11003148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyrimthespeaker/pseuds/dyrimthespeaker
Summary: In which David likes to write, Ron likes to lurk, and Lewis likes to kiss his friends.





	like that summer, the one we spent before

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how or why this happened. It came to me one night at 4am, I just woke up and grabbed my phone and wrote down notes and bits of dialogue and then fell back asleep and when I woke up the next day I decided I would actually write it and I guess I ship this now…
> 
> Warning for implied sex while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. There isn't a tag that nicely encapsulates that, but I thought I'd mention it here.
> 
> Thanks to my gf phillipsheabutter and my lovely friend mechanikill for betaing!
> 
> Title from Perfume Genius – Rusty Chains

“Draw me like one of your French girls.”

The teasing statement broke David’s concentration. He’d found a spot at the edge of the party, away from the fire pit, up near the dunes where he could sit and write with no danger of being tripped over or jostled as everyone ran around drinking and laughing and dancing.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy his friends or their beach parties, it was just that he had things to write about and right now the sun was still out, giving light to the pages of his leather bound journal. He’d brought his messenger bag along to stash it in once the sun set and he was out of time to write, but for now he wanted to see how the mood of the beach would influence his poetry.

David glanced up briefly at Lewis who was grinning like he’d said something particularly clever, then returned to looking at the page. “I’m not drawing and you’re not a French girl.”

Lewis shrugged. “True, but ‘write me like one of your American boys’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

David hummed vaguely and wrote a few more words.

Lewis sat next to him and settled with a sigh. “Another poem?”

“Mh-hm.”

Lewis edged closer and knocked their shoulders together. “Read it to me.”

“It isn’t done,” David replied, not looking up from his work.

“I like a work in progress.” Lewis leaned in even closer to read over David’s shoulder.

David shut the journal and turned to him. “You like being an ass and encroaching on people’s privacy.”

Lewis laughed and leaned back a little, but not far enough to leave David’s personal space. “You certainly aren’t holding back today.”

David smiled. “You detest false pleasantries.”

“I do.” Lewis’ eyes were sparkling with part mischief part illicit substance. His hair was messy, though David could say little about that as his own curls were windswept and any attempt he’d made to set them in order was long gone.

Where David stayed to the outskirts, Lewis was always in the center of the festivities. Drinking and dancing and pulling people in like a magnet. Everyone orbited him like he was the sun and he flitted from person to person as it suited his fancy. Which now seemed to be convincing David to join him doing… something.

“Why did you interrupt my writing?”

“You’re always writing,” Lewis replied with a slight whine, “I want you to come join us.”

“I will later, I wanted to finish this first.” David opened the journal again and searched for where he’d left off.

“Have you been struck by inspiration?” Lewis asked.

“No, but I think I was about to be,” David replied. He reread his last line and closed his eyes, trying to envision the perfect word to follow.

Lewis leaned in again with a smirk teasing at his lips. “Are you in need of a muse?”

“Are you offering your services?”

“Any time, my friend.”

David shook his head and laughed, “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“Suit yourself.” Lewis settled down beside David and closed his eyes, seeming content to just sit together in silence for the moment. David looked at him, wondering if he might fall asleep, then returned to his writing. 

Lewis lay silent and still as the minutes stretched on and David was convinced he had fallen asleep so he focused entirely on writing. His brow furrowed and his lips parted as he concentrated on finding the perfect words to portray the ideas he wanted to express. Lewis’ warmth pressed against his thigh and the gentle sound of the wind rustling the beachgrass behind him evoked a calm that David wanted to capture as eloquently as he could.

This calm was broken by the sensation of being watched. David looked over at Lewis to find him staring up from his prone position. He seemed to be searching for something as he stared into David’s eyes, but what it was David wasn’t sure. 

“What?”

Lewis sat up instead of answering and moved even further into David’s space, not once breaking eye contact except to blink. David felt ensnared and stared back, mouth slack and hands frozen holding his pen and journal. He felt as if he was being put to some test, though he didn’t know what for or how to pass. They were having some sort of moment, but David couldn’t categorize it and he scrambled to come up with a description, but all that came to mind were snippets of metaphors he’d been considering for his poem.

Despite David’s inability to respond, Lewis seemed to find what he was looking for and moved in to press their lips together. David froze further, tensing in surprise, but as the warmth of Lewis’ lips registered the tension in his body released and he kissed back.

Lewis tasted like chocolate soft serve and whiskey when he licked into David’s mouth. He had a hand fisted in David’s curls to hold him still, but his lips were soft and the kiss was more languid than demanding. David found himself relaxing into the slow rhythm of it, responding to Lewis’ movements and allowing him to set the pace.

After a few moments Lewis let go of David’s hair and moved his hand to stroke along his jaw gently, coaxing him into deepening the kiss. David allowed himself to be coaxed and relaxed his hands on his journal. His eyes were closed and all he could feel was warmth, from the sand under him and the sun above and from Lewis’ mouth on his own. He could smell the salt air mixing with the faint spice of Lewis’ cologne and he could hear the rolling of the waves and the laugher of their friends, though they sounded far away.

He was so caught up cataloguing the sensations of the kiss he almost missed when it ended. Lewis pulled away just as slowly as he’d started and smiled at David. David smiled back, though more hesitantly, unsure of where this was going to lead.

“Join us soon, okay?” Lewis asked before pressing one last kiss to David’s lips. Then he stood and walked off to rejoin the party, not sparing even a glance back David’s way.

David watched him go, then looked around to see if anyone had taken notice of them. If anyone had, they hadn’t held their interest, as no one was looking his way now. He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and worried it between his teeth as he thought about the way Lewis had kissed him.

Tender, warm, lacking in Lewis’ usual teasing. There had been no edge, nor a sense that it had been intended as yet another move in Lewis’ endless chess game against the world. It was simple in a way that David couldn’t stop thinking about. In a way that prompted him to turn to the next page of his journal and begin a new poem.

He didn’t look up again until the sun began to set and he had to concede to the lack of lighting. He packed his journal and his pens in his messenger bag and made his way towards the bonfire his friends had built up. He grabbed a drink and found a place to stand near everyone, but far enough back from the fire itself to avoid getting caught in the fray of those who were fighting for prime spots to roast marshmallows.

Music was playing and everyone was laughing as drinks were enjoyed and snacks were prepared. David roasted a few marshmallows for himself after the initial rush died down, that way he could slowly roast them to a perfect golden brown.

He was standing at the edge of the circle again, sucking the last of the warm sticky sugar from his fingers and watching Lewis on the other side of the fire alternate between dancing and taking swigs of his drink, when he realized he had company.

Turning to his side revealed Ron standing just behind him. The shadows and bursts of light from the fire played over Ron’s face, serving to make him seem more sinister than usual. David suspected he’d chosen to stand in that spot specifically for that purpose, as Ron seemed to spend a great deal of time cultivating an air of vaguely menacing aloofness.

Though there was plenty of noise from the party between the music and the shouts of laughter that peppered the conversations taking place around them, neither David nor Ron spoke a word. Instead David went back to watching Lewis and he could feel Ron was watching him.

“He kisses everyone.” Ron broke the silence quietly, speaking so only David would hear.

“I know,” David said. He was fully aware of Lewis’ habits.

Ron didn’t reply.

“He hadn’t kissed me before,” David continued. Because that was the crux of it. Lewis may have kissed most of his friends at one time or another, but he’d never kissed David before today.

“He’s only going to do it more now.”

David turned to look at Ron again. “Why?”

“He took molly,” Ron said, nodding his head in Lewis’ direction.

“Oh.” David looked back over to see Lewis grinning wildly and dancing with the sort of reckless abandon he seemed to employ as a general life philosophy. It made sense he’d brought an upper to a party like this, and molly made the most sense for the pleasantly tactile mood he seemed to be in. David wondered if this made it more likely for Lewis to kiss him again, as Ron had said. Of course, knowing Lewis, he’d likely seek whichever partner promised the best time in his own estimation. Whether that was David or not was unclear.

Ron’s mouth quirked into the shadow of a smile. “He’s a hedonist.”

David turned his attention back to Ron. “I think most people use that term disparagingly.”

“Hedonism isn’t inherently immoral.”

“No, it isn’t,” David agreed before musing, “I suppose I could be considered a hedonist.” He’d always fancied he’d end up a something or other. A hedonist wasn’t the worst thing to be categorized as.

Ron shook his head slightly. “You enjoy luxury, but you aren’t a hedonist.”

“Are you?” David asked.

“Hedonism involves the pursuit of pleasure without pain,” Ron answered.

“I know what hedonism is. I asked if you were one, not for a definition.” David couldn’t help but feel slightly affronted, as if Ron’s answer was a slight against him.

“I don’t believe you can have pleasure without pain,” Ron continued.

David relaxed as it became clear Ron hadn’t intended to suggest he was ignorant. “And Lewis does?”

Ron considered for a moment, then said, “Lewis pursues pleasure to erase his pain.”

“A true hedonist then.”

Ron hummed in answer, though whether it was agreement or merely acknowledgment, David wasn’t sure.

They lapsed back into silence.

“Did it bother you?” Ron asked after a while.

“Hm?”

“When he kissed you? He won’t do it again if you tell him not to.”

David was unsure how to answer that. It hadn’t bothered him in the way an unwanted kiss would bother you. He’d rather enjoyed it, but he also hadn’t sought it. He was curious whether it would happen again, but unsure whether he specifically wanted it to or not. He knew Lewis wouldn’t kiss him if he asked him not to, but to ask him not to would be to deny any chance at seeing where Lewis’ fancy might lead. David would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to face the implications of that fact.

“It’s okay if you liked it, David.” Ron’s eyes were dark and searching as he looked at him.

David glanced away, unable to maintain the intense eye contact.

This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have at the moment, especially not with Ron. David sipped his drink as he considered how to respond. Or if he even needed to respond. It wasn’t as if he owed Ron anything and in fact, Ron was being presumptuous to press David on the matter in the first place. He took another sip of his drink and walked away without a word, though he could feel Ron watching him go.

His retreat was also noticed by others, though they didn’t realize it was a retreat. His path away from Ron led him to the center of the party again and he got pulled into dancing. He allowed himself to get swept up in the excitement and put away any thoughts of kissing and uncomfortable conversations. Instead he swayed with the music and downed drinks as they were pressed into his hands.

It was later when he was flushed from exertion and pleasantly buzzed, sitting at the edge of the shadows catching his breath and watching his friends splash in the surf by the moonlight, that he felt a hand lay over his shoulder gently. David was too relaxed to startle and instead waited for the identity and intentions of the hand-layer to become clear.

“You look lonely,” came Lewis’ voice in his ear. He was close enough that his breath tickled David’s neck.

“Oh?”

“Mh-hm,” Lewis hummed.

“I don’t feel lonely.”

Lewis hummed again and turned to press his nose against the side of David’s throat. “Are you sure?” 

“Just because I’m not lonely, doesn’t mean I’ll reject company.”

Lewis laughed and brought his hand around to cup David’s jaw and tilt his head back. “I’m glad to hear it.”

He pressed their lips together for the third time that day, but this time David responded immediately.

David threaded his fingers into Lewis’ hair and pulled him down closer and Lewis went without disconnecting their lips. Lewis steadied himself with a hand on David’s thigh as he moved further into David’s space. David felt Lewis’ tongue glance over his mouth and parted his lips in response. He was rewarded by Lewis deepening the kiss and reaching down to spread David’s legs and settle in the space created between them.

David wondered if Lewis was going to press him down into the sand, but instead he stayed seated and brought his hands up from David’s thighs to cup his jaw. He ran his thumbs along David’s cheekbones tenderly, then pulled back just enough to look at David without going cross-eyed.

David stared back and the moonlight did little to illuminate the small details of Lewis’ face, but it was enough to clearly show his self-satisfied grin.

“You’ve always got your mouth open, you know that?”

David flushed and closed his mouth in response.

“Shh,” Lewis soothed. He moved one of his thumbs over and rubbed it across David’s lower lip. “It’s…” Lewis paused and seemed to consider his next word carefully, thumb still running back and forth over David’s lip. “Inviting,” he concluded, then kissed David again.

The kiss continued at a steady pace as they took their time exploring each other’s mouths and trailing fingers through each other’s hair. It was by no means chaste, but it wasn’t charged with a strong sexual energy. It felt experimental and novel. Like they were mapping each other out and seeing how the other would react.

It wasn’t until Lewis sucked David’s bottom lip into his mouth and David gasped in response that the energy shifted. Lewis paused, then did it again. David moaned softly and Lewis kissed him with renewed vigor. It became more heated and Lewis grabbed David’s hips and pulled him closer.

Lewis broke the kiss and pulled harder at David. “C’mere,” he urged.

David shuffled forward, following Lewis’ lead, and was pulled onto Lewis’ lap. He settled straddling him, pressed right up against him chest to chest with the heat of Lewis’ body firmly between his legs. He shifted a little and Lewis brought his hands down to rub over David’s thighs. The sensation was equal parts soothing and erotic, it both relaxed David and wound him up tighter.

He leaned in to kiss Lewis again and was gratified to feel Lewis’ hands grip his thighs tighter in response. Lewis nipped at his lip, then soothed it with a press of his tongue. David pressed closer against him and deepened the kiss, eager to show his skills and work Lewis up as much as Lewis had done to him.

They barely broke apart to breathe as they grabbed at each other, urging soft noises from each other as they kissed. David could feel his pulse starting to race as he panted into Lewis’ mouth, the need for more starting to overwhelm him. He ground down against Lewis and moaned at the pleasure that sparked up his spine. He started up a faltering rhythm rolling his hips and was searching for the right leverage when Lewis brought his hands down and stopped him. David whined in protest, but Lewis held firm, keeping David’s hips still and pulled back to break the kiss.

“Shh sweetheart, just feel it.” He stroked a hand down David’s back slowly, as if to soothe and settle him.

David released a slow shaky breath. “I am. I was feeling it.”

Lewis pressed a short tender kiss to David’s lips. “You were pushing for more.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.” Lewis gave him another short kiss. “But we aren’t going to fuck. We’re going to do just this all soft and slow.”

“Why?” David asked. He was starting to feel a little self-conscious, like he had failed somehow and wasn’t living up to Lewis’ standards.

Lewis seemed to pick up on his unease and rubbed David’s sides gently. “When I get fucked tonight it’s going to be by someone who’ll wreck me. And honey, you’re lovely, but you’re not going to wreck me.”

Despite the fact that Lewis was opening discussing being with someone else while David was still in his lap, David didn’t feel put off. He couldn’t see himself doing anything that would ‘wreck’ Lewis, so if that was what Lewis wanted it made sense he’d go to someone else. Still, he was enjoying this for the moment and it seemed Lewis was too, so he’d happily continue just this for as long as Lewis wanted.

David nodded and pecked Lewis’ lips. “Okay.”

“Yeah?” Lewis grinned up at him. “Okay.”

They came together in another kiss, but this time it lacked the heat that had worked up before. It was still deep, but far more leisurely. A slow simmer of exploration and gentle feeling, rather than a burning and heightening reach for more. They moved together with a give and take, responding and reacting, testing each other’s techniques. As the kiss continued, David let himself focus on how he’d describe it. The slower pace made him feel poetic just like their first kiss had and it struck him that for this moment, Lewis was something of a muse.

They parted again as Lewis moved to kiss along David’s jaw and down to his neck. David tipped his head back to give him more access and caught sight of Ron standing nearby. He wasn’t close enough to make it uncomfortable, but he was clearly close enough to see exactly what they were doing.

David ducked his head down again and tried to focus on Lewis. But now that he was aware of Ron’s presence he couldn’t help but wonder why he was there and if it had any connection with their earlier conversation. He looked at Ron again and met his eyes. Ron looked back at him with an expression too unclear to decipher by just the moonlight, but he didn’t look upset.

David closed his eyes and felt Lewis move from one side of his neck to the other, but he also felt Ron’s knowing gaze on him and he couldn’t stop thinking that it might have something to do with Lewis’ desire to be wrecked. He shifted in Lewis’ lap. “Is it Ron?”

“Hm?” Lewis hummed against his neck, more focused on pressing teasing kisses along the length of it than listening to what David was saying.

“Is Ron the one who’ll fuck you later?”

Lewis pulled back and looked up at David, searching his face for an indication of why David asked.

“Is he going to wreck you?” David pressed, staring back directly.

A lazy smirk spread over Lewis’ face. “Why? Does that interest you?”

It did, but not in the way Lewis was implying. David tried to come up with a suitable answer for his questioning. “I’d like to know who you’re going to after me.”

“Yeah, Ron’ll fuck me later,” Lewis answered casually before starting to move towards David’s neck again.

“Why?” David asked, his curiosity piqued. Though he had to admit that if he were to select anyone from the group he could imagine someone would turn to to be wrecked, it would be Ron.

Lewis paused halfway back to David’s neck. He straightened up again and closed his eyes. “I need him to pull me to pieces before I do it to myself,” he said softly.

“Oh,” David said, unsure how else to respond. He was aware of Lewis’ tendencies towards self-destruction and the implications of Lewis’ answer gave him pause.

Lewis opened his eyes again and gave David a wry smile. “But I’ll deal with that later, yeah?”

David nodded and allowed Lewis to pull him back for another few kisses until the moment seemed to come to an end. David had his forehead rested against Lewis’ and his hands on Lewis’ shoulders. Lewis had his hands resting on David’s hips and he drew them back when David sat up. They shared one last small peck before David slid off Lewis’ lap and sat next to him.

Lewis stood and brushed sand off himself, but he neglected to step away from David before doing so. David cried out in protest, “You’re brushing that directly onto me!”

He laughed and apologized and David huffed in response, but good naturedly, not really meaning it.

Lewis looked around at their friends spread across the beach, then back down at David who was straightening his shirt. “Goodnight,” he said, a fond smile on his face.

“Goodnight,” David replied, then watched Lewis pick his way across the sand.

David’s lips were tender and swollen and he felt sated. He didn’t know if Lewis would ever kiss him again, but he knew he didn’t regret letting him tonight. He got up after Lewis had been gone a while and made his way over to his friends. He joined them wading into the water and running from the waves and laughing when the pull of the ocean froze them in place for a wave to splash across their backs.

He stayed in the water until the lure of drying off by the fire overpowered his love of the ocean. He walked out slowly, not minding the waves that pushed and pulled against his legs. He did slightly mind the feeling of his wet clothes sticking to his skin, but even that was a discomfort he was more than willing to live with in order to have been in the water.

As he slowly walked towards the bonfire he caught sight of two figures back by the cars. He altered his path slightly to get a better look and came to a stop as soon as he realized it was Ron and Lewis.

He saw Ron had Lewis pressed up against the side of a car. Lewis seemed to be melting against him, propped up more by the car and Ron than his own body. Ron had him pinned with a thigh between Lewis’ legs and David could see Lewis was grinding against it almost desperately. Their kiss seemed frenzied and hungry, lacking in any tenderness.

He watched as Lewis’ hands pulled at the fabric of Ron’s shirt, like he was trying to pull it off through sheer will rather than actually moving it up Ron’s body. Ron grabbed Lewis’ wrists and pinned them back against the car and pushed his thigh more firmly between Lewis’ legs. Lewis’ head dropped back and Ron took the opportunity to press his face to Lewis’ neck, but between the distance and the fact that the only illumination came from the moon, David couldn’t tell if he was kissing or biting.

It certainly looked far closer to wreckage than anything David had felt with Lewis. He felt he’d lingered long enough, so he turned away and walked back to the bonfire.

He found a seat and settled down. The heat from the fire and the breeze worked together to dry him off and he tuned out his friends’ conversations to consider the events of the evening. He wished he had enough light to write by, but he knew as soon as he was home he’d pull out his journal again and write more poetry. Lewis’ joke about being a muse might not be too far off, as his actions had certainly prompted inspiration in David.

David watched the sparks from the fire fly across the night sky as he composed new poems in his head.


End file.
